Sri Lanka’s Ancient History of Lord Murugan

By Shantini Mogan

30 JANUARY:The worship of the Indian god Skanda-Murugan is intimately associated with recent archeological discoveries about the history of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka.

The Lankan Kataragama Guardian Deities

 
The worship of Skanda-Kumara, a guardian god of Sinhala Buddhism, had come to be associated with the Kataragama temple by the 16th century. By the 15th century, the town was a well-known destination for Hindu pilgrims from Sri Lanka and India.The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also documented in Pali chronicles of Thailand, such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century.

Murugan is revered in both Hinduism and Sinhala Buddhism, as evidenced by numerous Buddhist and Hindu accounts of miraculous occurrences.According to local mythology, Murugan arrived in Kataragama and was charmed by Valli, a native girl. They married after a courting period. This occurrence is interpreted to mean that Murugan is accessible to those who worship and adore him, regardless of their birthplace or ethnicity.

In the Kataragama Temple, he is known as Kathiravel or Kataragama Devi.Coins issued by Sri Lankan Tamil bearing symbols of Murugan.There is also available evidence now of coins, linked to Skanda-Kumara worship, issued by Sri Lankan Tamils. Their period ranges from the 3rd century B.C. to the 17th century A.D. These throw light on various aspects such as the ancient language, script, settlements of peoples, commerce, foreign relations and so on.Letters in Brahmi or Tamil, symbols or emblems, figures of gods or goddesses, deity names, and so on are extremely useful in reconstructing historical events.

The coins are important in tracing religious history, and the data provides great insight into the history of the Murugan cult on the island. Artifacts depicting Murugan’s symbolic characteristics, such as Vēl (sword) and Ceval (cock), etched on coins, provide insight into the history of Murugan worship in Sri Lanka.

Vel worship in Sri Lanka dates back to ancient times. Archaeological discoveries in Sri Lanka and South India, as well as ancient Tamil literary sources, and the belief system of the Veddas (an indigenous community in Sri Lanka) .